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MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer. non-profit organizations such as foundations or social services agencies. The Executive Director (ED) of a human services agency that provides residential treatment for adolescents was interested in front-line employees perceptions of their work environments. social psychologist or clinical psychologist). Privacy Policy - Terms of Service. Arlington, VA: Author. 1. (2003). Those who are change agents or interventionists also intuitively or actually know the value of building assessments or measures into their change efforts from the beginning to identify both areas in need of improvement and areas of success. supports HTML5 video, 1998-, AlleyDog.com. (2020). The outcome of improved grades for the students was, in fact, related to the skill of the artist as a poet than to the artist as a musician in the delivery of the curriculum. How to communicate evaluation findings. The coordinator who reported to the program director did not seem particularly interested in any kind of evaluation. (1994). Rose, D. S., & Davidson, E. J. ,b DOI 10.1515/ijdhd-2017-7007, Stewart, K., & Townley, G. (2020). using data collection strategies that take into account organizational resource limitations, establishing quality control measures, and. American Evaluation Association jobs site. startxref
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Students in the graduate Program Evaluation class and I met with the Commissioner and formulated a plan for record reviews of intake information at the ED of the local hospital. From isolation to community: Exploratory study of a sense-of-community intervention. (1996). Through my ongoing relationship with the program director as the programs evaluation consultant, we conducted multiple evaluations, including focus groups/interviews with key leaders in the community, an asset-liabilities assessment of a specific neighborhood, and pre-post surveys with a summer leadership program for high school students, among several other projects over a period of approximately six years. American Journal of Community Psychology, 65, 305-319. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12400. Although such a conclusion would not have been drawn without the evaluators observation of the classroom exercise, there were also numerous observations of the effective and appropriate implementation of the collaboration as designed. Log in, I-O Psychology Assessment And Intervention, I-O Psychology Assessment and Intervention, Identifying stakeholders, evaluators, and evaluation questions. Here the lack of success seems tied to the lack of interest or commitment on the part of the external stakeholders, most of who did not view themselves as stakeholders at all. in program evaluation, you could work in any number of settings, including: Many organizations from school districts to community-based organizations to hospitals have internal departments dedicated to program evaluation. The organization had developed an extensive curriculum, a set of nine chapters with accompanying slides, for medical professionals to bring current, in-depth information to those with the condition and to inform the general public about the condition. and liabilities (closed stores, vacant houses, empty lots with trash). After the initial meeting, the students were virtually unable to connect with the program coordinator who simply did not respond to emails or phone calls. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Upon the completion of that grant, I was subsequently approached to collaborate with a variety of community-based programs and agencies over a period of years. Evaluation thesaurus (4th ed.). These evaluations are done in the fields of health, education, social services, and business, among others, and the results influence decision making on program design, implementation, and continuation. How has evaluation changed over the prior decade? If these change agents develop interventions with an evaluation mentality, that is, with program evaluation as a core part of planning, design, and implementation, the resulting evaluative feedback can provide validation of the effectiveness of programmatic efforts, and thus, of change agents, or illustrate the need for substantive changes in aspects of the intervention efforts. Some employees expressed concern that their interview information might not remain anonymous; the manager was not considered trustworthy. American Journal of Community Psychology, 66, 144-165. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12422, Shek, D.T.L., Ma, C.M.S, Law, M.Y.M., & Zhao, Z. 0000120288 00000 n
However, confirming the value of such work or appropriately modifying it can only be accomplished through the inclusion of community-based program evaluations. A Program Evaluation is an assessment of a programs procedures and outcomes, carried out to improve the effectiveness and/or efficiency of a program. Participants in each setting completed pre-post surveys which demonstrated some increase in knowledge about, and understanding of, the condition across the three settings but clearly those improvements were not related to the actual use of the curriculum. Cultural Development in Underrepresented Communities: Using an Empowerment and Citizen Participation Approach, 2. schools and other educational institutions. I refused, based on the ethics of my adhering to my promise. 0000001189 00000 n
(2020), Goodkind et al. The degree of determined and dedicated student involvement led to the clear success of this evaluation effort. increasing calls for accountability and for evidence-based programming and practices. (2020). Students walking down the hallway after the meeting overheard the manager say to the assistant, They should just do their f*** jobs! illustrating that the manager had little interest in soliciting feedback from employees. An integrative review of the current literature on sense of community and well-being. Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation. Want to adapt books like this? (2020), OConnor (2013), OShaughnessy and Greenwood (2020), Stewart and Townley (2020), and Suarez-Balcazar (2020). (2020). Masters-level evaluators are on staff in these contexts to direct or assist with all aspects of evaluation projects. The former evaluations emerge from a course requirement for students to participate in the design and implementation of a group evaluation project and the latter projects include my consultation-based evaluations of specific programs or organizations. The human resources program-evaluation handbook. The figure below highlights these three principles: Finally, program evaluation serves as a critical part of the practice of community psychology, providing essential information for funding sources, and crucial feedback for those aiming to improve individuals quality of life and well-being. Safe spaces embedded in dangerous contexts: How Chicago youth navigate daily life and demonstrate resilience in high-crime neighborhoods. The number of people who are members of theAmerican Evaluation Association, the largest professional society of evaluators in the world, has more than doubled since 2001! This work can either be done independently or with a team of other evaluation professionals. (Eds.). 
The inclusion of evaluation strategies can assist program implementers/change agents in identifying the critical elements to ensure meaningful interventions and to provide evidence of the viability of replication. emphasis on evaluating the quality of evaluations. Community-based preventive interventions for depression and anxiety in women. 5vqxG(p
&,bHoPnz!77*jVUWj^)> 5'pF{PutC%^*_WjqU+z1%QI'$ In another evaluation, the program director of the same substance abuse prevention program requested that students conduct interviews with people presumed to be key stakeholders to obtain their feedback on the program.
As part of an overall assessment, another national organization/foundation with a focus on differently-abled individuals was interested in whether locally-based programs which they funded were using strategies that matched the vision and mission of the national organization and whether the implementations were resulting in the desired outcomes. Meaningful engagement in research: Community residents as co-creators of knowledge. web browser that Additionally, we must recognize both the CP-based values (social justice, sense of community, empowerment, etc.) Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. Program evaluation thus becomes an essential tool in the practice of CP. building efficiency into the data collection process. Students presented the results to the Commissioner who was able to work with the Department of Social Services to develop preventive interventions to reduce childrens unnecessary use of the ED. Storytellers emphasize the logical progression of a story (beginning, middle, end) for kindergartners and first-graders and math operations (addition and subtraction) for second and third graders; dancers express the meaning of words in movement (lean forward, then backward for wax and wane or ebb and flow). trailer
Journal of Community Psychology, 41(8), 973-991. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.21587, OShaughnessy, B.R., & Greenwood, R.M. International Journal of Disabilities and Human Development, 16(4), 387-393. Most other observations were conducted with the enthusiastic involvement of teachers and artists. This effectively precluded the presumed replicability of the teacher-artist collaboration. Evaluators may have a background in program evaluation, in a social science (e.g., psychology, sociology, anthropology, social work) or in a field such as education, communications, economics, public health, nursing, or medicine. This involves winning bids for evaluation contracts and then designing, conducting, and reporting findings to your client. I also provide three principles that serve as guides for program evaluators. 
Other professional trends that are shaping the future include: These trends mean that specialized training in program evaluation will be in even greater demand moving forward. The reports were not well received; directors who had welcomed me, participated actively in the evaluation activities and seemed to accept and even welcome verbal recommendations at the end of each visit, did not appreciate having any of what they perceived as less than positive results in a written report. (2017), and Wadsworth et al. 0000002854 00000 n
As the evaluator I had assured each of the participating counties that their results would be anonymous, that is, the State as the funding source would not know which counties were successful and which were not. The essential questions for program implementers or change agents are whether a proposed program is appropriate, whether the implemented program is as planned or how it has changed, and whether the program outcomes are as hoped for or as expected. (Eds.). (2003). With an M.A. A Plan for Prevention: Measuring Equity from the Start, 10. Green Space Programs as a Shared Growth and Communal Process: A Somali Gardeners Journey in Minnesota, 4. xref
In the observed classroom experience, the artist used her own skills in poetry-writing to deliver the lesson rather than her musical talent and musical instruments. However, these stakeholders-leaders, all of whom the students contacted directly, were not sufficiently knowledgeable about, or in some cases, invested in the work of the program to participate in the interview process, resulting in inadequate numbers of completed interviews and thus, inadequate feedback regarding program implementation. Rossi, P. H., & Freeman, H. E. (1993). Agency for International Development, helping to grow the field. 
Some of these clients come through bidding on contracts and others request the firms services. Beauregard, C., Tremblay, J., Pomerleau, J., Simard, M., Bourgeois-Guerin, Lyke, C., Rousseau, C. (2020). In this chapter I modify and expand the traditional single-case study format to include multiple mini-case studies from which I extract lessons learned through my evaluation-based practice of community psychology (CP). American Journal of Community Psychology, 66, 261-271. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12414, Wadsworth, M.E., McDonald, A., Jones, C.M., Ablkvist, J.A., Perzow, S.E.D., Tilghman-Osborne, E.M., Creavey, K., & Brelsford, G.M. The observation revealed that the actual use of the curriculum varied widely across the three settings. At the end of the evaluation period, some strategies were clearly more effective than others which led to the adoption, or at least the encouragement of the adoption, of those strategies state-wide. What kind of training do program evaluators have? They are: (1) ensuring that the evaluation results are useful, (2) making sure the evaluation is simple and doable, and (3) evaluation efforts are congruent with the program efforts. Most local program directors were understandably proud of their own efforts, the extent of local participation, and the outcomes of the programs. Discussion ensued resulting in the project manager asserting her position as manager and me asserting my role as evaluator with my intention to adhere to the independence of the evaluation process and outcome. There are also evaluation firms that are contracted to conduct external evaluations on behalf of diverse clients. The physician-presenter in the rural setting discussed the first several chapters; the multiple presenters in the university setting each reviewed their own areas of expertise without reference to the curriculum, and the presenters in the urban/primarily family setting focused on one chapter in the curriculum which did not overlap at all with the rural presentation. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. American Journal of Community Psychology, 65, 437-454. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12411, DaViera, A.L., Roy, A.L., Uriostegui, M., Fiesta, D. (2020). Community-based preventive interventions for depression and anxiety in women. Scriven, M. (1991). Reducing the biological and psychological toxicity of poverty-related stress: Initial efficacy of the BaSICS intervention of early adolescents. The collected information enabled the program director to develop strategies to advocate for neighborhood improvements and to identify specific locations for program development. American Journal of Community Psychology, 65, 272-289. https://doi-org.nl.idm.oclc.org/10.1002/ajcp.12418, Lin, E.S., Flanagan, S.K., Vargo, SM., Zaff, J.F., Margolius, M. (2020). My aim here and in all of my work is to encourage an evaluation mentality in CP practitioner-change agents. The manager would provide access to front-line workers. Check out some of the organizations that hire masters level evaluators and some of the websites of independent evaluation specialists: People who work as program evaluators have diverse professional training. Seven overarching lessons learned are depicted in tables below. 0000001282 00000 n
Again, the importance of observation is demonstrated in that the conclusion could only have emerged through my evaluator observation of each implementation. How far have we come? 0
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There is also the option of working as a consultant. In working with a program director in an agency that provides support to underserved, generally homeless, people, I suggested conducting a focus group with people who were receiving services to solicit their input in developing strategies to address their needs, which could result in modifications of existing programs. For more information on evaluation consulting, check out Gail Barringtons bookConsulting and Start-up Management. All material within this site is the property of AlleyDog.com. What lens would another psychologist bring (e.g. At the end of the project, with positive results clearly disseminated, the State staff requested rather strongly that the anonymity be unveiled so that the successful and not so successful counties be identified. As the evaluator, I included observation of each of the three planned implementations of the curriculum, one in a rural setting with people with the condition, one in a university with providers, caretakers, and people with the condition, and a third in an urban setting with providers and caretakers, primarily parents and family members of children with the condition. Participation in these kinds of evaluations provided the students with meaningful, hands-on experiences with the process of evaluation and with the programmatic commitment to assessing the usefulness and value of ones work. Utilization-focused evaluation (3rd ed.). 0000000016 00000 n
Although students were reviewing unredacted records, Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval was not considered necessary; unpublished program evaluations do not require IRB review. Another instance of ethical difficulties was in the final first-year evaluation report of two-year community-based, federally-funded project which required collaboration across multiple human service agencies. 0000006542 00000 n
The outcome was the termination of the entire evaluation project. As the evaluator for the national organization, I undertook the task of assessing six of the local programs (somewhat randomly selected) to identify both aspects that were congruent with the national organizations goals and objectives and those that needed modification to increase their rates of success. Program evaluators work with the people who commission an evaluation and are affected by its findings to make sure that the findings are understood accurately and are properly used. 
These mini-case studies, with their lessons learned immediately following, document that some efforts were successful and, not surprisingly, some were not. Improving quality may range from enhancing individuals sense of well-being to ensuring needed supports; some examples include DaViera et al. That focus, on the calendar rather than content, reflected the decreasing commitment of the teachers to effective participation in the process of teacher-artist collaboration. The program evaluation standards: How to assess evaluations of educational programs (2nd ed.). Building communities in tense times: Fostering connectedness between cultures and generations through community arts. 0000088553 00000 n
The project itself was built on the expectation that people in the community would be familiar with, if not involved in, the work of the project. These program directors were willing to participate in the evaluation activities but were also accustomed to receiving only praise for their efforts in initiating and managing their programs. Careers in program evaluation are Diverse, Exciting, and Growing! The impact of comprehensive community initiatives on population-level child, youth, and family outcomes: A systematic review. 
Empowering features and outcomes of homeless interventions: A systematic review and narrative synthesis. U.S. Agency for International Development. Several of my evaluation experiences have reinforced the importance of effective process evaluations, particularly of observation. However, the focus group did not achieve the expected outcome in that all participants had extensive experiences with such agencies/programs and were familiar with the kinds of questions that might be asked and with the range of what they perceived that agencies might consider acceptable responses. Dare2Dialogue: Promoting Inclusion Through Storytelling and Dialogue, 3. Thus, the circumstances under which the focus group was conducted, that is, in the agency itself with a peer as a co-facilitator, led to repetitions of stories and statements which only affirmed what was already happening, rather than suggestions for novel approaches to addressing the needs of program participants. 
An illustration of the second factor, actual use of the arts by the artist, an effective songwriter/poet/musician collaborated with a fourth-grade teacher in the delivery of a poetry unit with the expectation that the artist would use music to demonstrate the role of rhythm in poetry. To evaluate a summer leadership program for high school students offered by the same substance abuse prevention program, the graduate students in the program evaluation course and I met with the program coordinator to identify the aims and activities of the program which would enable the students to develop pre-and post-surveys. Maleki, F.M., Massahikhaleghi, P., Tehrani-Banihasnemi, A., Davoudi, F. (2020). Handbook of practical program evaluation. This was a series of mini-case studies to illustrate factors that can affect the critical role that program evaluation plays in the community-based practice of community psychology. In one New York State-based evaluation, six counties were selected to participate in a public health intervention and were asked to different their own program designs in their efforts to achieve the desired public health outcome. %%EOF
Only one among numerous CP program evaluations yielded a particularly negative response; when asked the reason for not continuing in the program, one person responded, I hate [the program director who happens to be the author!].. This attitude was reflected in the difficulty students had throughout the project, first in getting access to employees, and second, in having employees agree to be interviewed. (2013). A local prevention program focused on specific issues related to illegal substance use among younger people as required by their funding sources. 0000129581 00000 n
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However, the actual viability and replicability of the program will depend on two factors: first, the support of the classroom teachers through their involvement in the collaborative process, and second, the actual use of the arts by the change-agent artists. 0000002314 00000 n
The overall aim of community psychologists work is the improvement of participants quality of life; some examples include Beauregard et al. The meeting ended quite satisfactorily, with a potential schedule for the next steps, and the ED, manager, and assistant left. Describe why it is important when conducting program evaluations to analyze the data collected from an ecological level. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. User-friendly handbook for project evaluation: Science, mathematics, engineering and technology education (NSF 93-152). These included focus groups with elderly residents of a public housing project to assess their satisfaction (which impacted planned renovations of the housing project), and observations of an advisory board for a child sexual abuse intervention program to identify strategies to enhance the Executive Directors success with the Advisory Board (one obstreperous person resigned; the Chair reorganized meeting structure). Using appropriate program evaluation strategies based on the three principles cited above will enhance the efficacy of community-based interventions. What lens might a community psychologist bring to the table in a program evaluation? The students, under my direction, finally developed a draft survey to enable some completion of the project before the end of the semester. Wholey, J. S., Hatry, H. P., & Newcomer, K. E. Transportation costs in the form of bus passes and given gift certificates to a local chain were offered to encourage participation and to compensate for their time. After the first year of the program, the planning meetings became more about setting up the calendar than about modifying or expanding the content and mode of the artists delivery of the curriculum. Three factors led to this generalizability: the quality of the student-designed project, the Commissioners appreciation of, and reliance on relevant data, and the Commissioners interest in expanding the use of relevant methodologies and usable information as a foundation for decision-making. This arts-education collaboration can result in improved grades for students, which can be documented over time through appropriate outcome measures, for example, quarterly grades compared with the previous year, or compared with another no-arts unit. Those of us who work/practice in the community most assuredly value the consistencies and, at the same time, the idiosyncrasies of that work, as reflected in the seven takeaways and the illustrations of each. In J. E. Edwards, J. C. Scott, & N. S. Raju (Eds. Promoting Community-Driven Change in Family and Community Systems to Support Girls Holistic Development in Senegal, 6. (2020), Maleki, et al. National Science Foundation. Randomized controlled trial of a multilevel intervention to address social determinants of refugee mental health. For example, does the program achieve its goals and keep costs down? 0000053315 00000 n
The seven lessons, with illustrative mini-case studies, are based on two kinds of evaluation projects: student-based through my graduate program evaluation course and consultation-based through my CP practice. Online Master's Degree in Program Evaluation, Independent Consulting Careers in Evaluation. From that work, I have identified seven lessons regarding the use of program evaluation strategies that are offered as guides to those in the CP practice of evaluating community-based programs. movements to certify and accredit evaluation professionals in some countries. The ED, a manager, and an assistant met with the graduate students and me to discuss the EDs purpose for the evaluation: to learn how to make the organization a best place to work. The success of this project resulted in the Commissioner taking the methodology to the relevant State Offices and the data collection strategy was replicated in nine counties. 
Program evaluators systematically investigate the quality of programs of all kinds and all sizes, including: Program evaluators study programs using tools from many different research traditions in order to figure out if programs are working and how programs might work better. American Journal of Community Psychology, 65, 479-503. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12398.
